Reclosable carrier bag

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a carrier bag consisting of a thermoplastic, synthetic material film with two opposing lateral walls ( 6, 7 ) that are welded together at their base and lateral edges ( 8, 9 ). A closing device ( 2 ), which is provided with profiled strips and actuated by a sliding element ( 3 ) and which closes the fill opening ( 10 ), is welded to the internal face of the lateral walls. According to the invention, each lateral wall ( 6, 7 ) is provided with a grip hole ( 4 ) below the closing device ( 2 ).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a shopping bag made of a thermoplasticsynthetic resin with two adjacent side panels welded together at sideand bottom edges and having inner faces to which are welded profiledstrips of a closure operable by a slider and serving to close a fillmouth.

STATE OF THE ART

It is generally known to provide a thermoplastic-foil bag with aclosure. A bag that has a closure formed by two inter-engageable ribs isknown from German 1,950,724. The spaced outer edges of the ribs areformed as reinforcement strips. The engaging other parts of the ribs areformed as undercut hook sections that latch on each other when the ribsare pressed together. The profiles are unitarily formed on the sidepanels. A slider is also described that engages over the closure andthat during closing slides across the mouth of the bag.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,393 shows a closure for a plastic bag that is alsoprovided with a slider. The slider makes it possible to join the profilestrips of the closure or to separate the profile strips that are formedas interengageable hooks. The closure is a separate element that isfitted to the fill opening of the plastic bag. A problem with suchreusable plastic bags is that they are difficult to handle when full andclosed.

With respect to handling plastic bags, German 2,526,014 describes aplastic bag made of two side panels that are provided adjacent the fillopening with handle holes. The two side panels are welded together attheir edges except at the fill opening. To increase the portability ofthe plastic bag, the handle holes are provided with reinforcementstrips.

The mounting of reinforcement strips adjacent the grip holes ofthermoplastic synthetic-resin shopping bags is described in EP0,266,670. The shopping bag has hand-hole reinforcements ofsynthetic-resin foil that are welded in place over an array of pointswith a predetermined ratio between welded and unwelded areas. When suchshopping bags are filled, stress lines are produced that extend from thelongitudinal axis of the shopping bag at an angle to the corners of thefloor of the bag. The greatest loads are in the lower regions of thesides of the hand holes. This load is assumed by the arrayed weld pointswith the reinforcement strips and the panels of the bag such that thestrength of the bag and what it can carry are increased. Such shoppingbags are capable of holding a large load, but they can only be closedwith great difficultly, in order for example to transport frozenproducts or to protect the contents from moisture.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention, the develop a shopping bag that can beproduced economically, can carry a considerable load, whose fill openingis easy to close, and which is easy to handle.

These objects are attained in that each side panel is formed below theclosure with a hand hole. The invention makes it possible to easilyhandle and carry a reclosable shopping bag. If items are put in the bagaccording to the invention, air access to them is reduced and the itemsare also protected from wetness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the following, two embodiments of the invention are shown and moreclosely described with reference to the drawing.

FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a shopping bag according to theinvention with a hand hole integrated in the side panels;

FIG. 2 shows a three-dimension view of a shopping bag according to theinvention with welded-on handles extending past a portion of the widthof the side panels.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of a shopping bag 1 with a closure2, a slider 3, a hand hole 4, and a reinforcement strip 5 around thehand hole 4. The shopping bag 1 is formed of two side panels 6 and 7that are joined along longitudinal edges 8 and 9 up to a fill opening10. The closure 2 is made as a separate item and then welded to the sidepanels 6 and 7 of the plastic bag during its manufacture. Such closuresare known from the prior art and are formed mainly as profiled stripsthat can be interengaged by means of the slider 3 and that as a resultof their profiles grip each other. The joined profiles can be separatedby being bent apart at any location and then pulled away from eachother. To reclose the bag 1 the slider 3 is again drawn along theprofiled strips and they grip each other. The hand-hole reinforcement 5is welded to the inside of each of the side panels 6 and 7 and thusincreases the load the bag 1 can carry. The hand-hole reinforcements 5are each made as a separate part and are welded to the side panels 6 and7 underneath the fill opening 10 offset from the closure 2 and welds ofthe side panels 6 and 7 before the hand holes 4 are punched out.

The hand holes 4 can be different shapes different from those of therespective reinforcements 5. It is possible to punch a throughgoing holein the side panels 6 and 7 so that the side panels 6 and 7 have anopening here or it is possible according to the invention to punch inthe side panels 6 and 7 a C-shaped slit as hand hole 4. With theC-shaped hand hole 4 the C is cross-wise to the fill opening and theopening of the C is turned toward the fill opening 10. It is possible tohold the shopping bag 1 by means of the hand hole 4 and with a C-shapedhand-hole the interior of the bag 1 is protected against moisture andair.

Regardless of the shape of the hand hole 4 and the type of reinforcement5, the side panels 6 and 7 can be made of an insulating foil. Insulatingfoils are generally known, for example vapor-coated with aluminum ormade of aluminum laminated to a plastic foil. It is also naturallypossible to use other insulating thermoplastic foils. The hand-holereinforcement 5 can be used in every embodiment.

In order to put something in the shopping bag 1, the fill opening 10 isspread and the item is put into the bag 1, then the slider 3 is movedfrom one edge to the other of the bag, that is across the entire widthof the bag. The profiled strips are now interlocked and the fill region10 of the bag 1 is closed. The bag 1 can now be gripped through the hole4 and easily handled and carried. The contained goods or product isprotected against air, radiation, moisture, etc. Only in the region ofthe hand hole 4 is the bag 1 still open. This opening however has withrespect to air entry a minor roll as the opening is relatively small andis closed by the person carrying it. Even in the case when the personcarrying the bag 1 does not use the hand holes 4, only very limitedmoisture, for example, can get in via the hand holes 4 since the twohand holes 4 are pulled together by the closure. With an appropriateformation of the hand holes 4, e.g. C-shaped, external influences can bemade even smaller.

A further embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 2.

The shopping bag 11 is formed of two side panels 12 and 13 weldedtogether along their longitudinal edges and a closure 14 is welded atthe fill region of the bag and also extends the full width of theshopping bag 11. In this embodiment the handles 15 and 16 are separateparts welded externally to the side panels 12 and 13. In order tofacilitate the welding of the closure 14 to the side panels 12 and 13,the handles 15 and 16 are welded to the side panels 12 and 13 such thatthey extend after welding toward a floor 17 of the bag 11. Thisorientation of the handles 15 and 16 is shown at dashed lines in FIG. 2.After filling the bag 11 and closing it via the slider 18, the handles15 and 16 can be folded up from the side panels 12 and 13 to extend pastthe closure 14 and be used as a handle 15.

The handles 15 and 16 can either be welded onto the side panels 12 and13 or separately mounted directly below the weld of the closure 14 orcan be welded to the side panels 12 and 13 in one step with the closure14. The handles 15 and 16 either extend only over a portion of the widthof the bag and are centrally arranged, or the plastic strips in whichthe hand-holes 19 are punched extend over the entire width of the bag 1.The hand holes 19 in the handles 15 and 16 can as in the firstembodiment be punched out or C-shaped. It is also possible to make theside panels 12 and 13 of insulating foils.

Such a shopping bag 11 has the advantage that there is no hand hole inthe side panels 12 and 13 and that the closure 14 serves asreinforcement, with the tension from the handles 15 and 16 beingtransmitted to the closure 14 and from it uniformly over the entirewidth of the bag 11.

1. A shopping bag made of a thermoplastic synthetic resin with twoadjacent side panels (8 and 9) welded together at side (6 and 7) andbottom edges and having inner faces to which are welded profiled stripsof a closure (4) operable by a slider (3) and serving to close a fillmouth (10), characterized in that each side panel (6 and 7) is formedbelow the closure (2) with a hand hole (4).
 2. The shopping bagaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the hand hole (4) is punchedout of the side panels (6 and 7).
 3. The shopping bag according to claim1, characterized in that the hand hole (4) is formed as a C-shapedcutout in the side panels (6 and 7).
 4. The shopping bag according toclaim 1, characterized in that a thermoplastic-foil reinforcement (5) iswelded on an inner face of each side panel (6 and 7) around each of thehand holes (4).
 5. The shopping bag according to claim 1, characterizedin that the side panels (6 and 7) are made of an insulating foil.
 6. Ashopping bag made of a thermoplastic synthetic resin with two adjacentside panels (12 and 13) welded together at side and bottom (17) edgesand having inner faces to which are welded profiled strips of a closure(14) operable by a slider 18) and serving to close a fill mouth,characterized in that a handle (15 or 16) made of a thermoplasticsynthetic-resin foil is welded to an outer face of each side panel (12and 13), each handle (15 and 16) being formed with a hand hole andextending in welded-on condition toward the floor edge (17) of the bag(11) and lying flatly against the respective side panel (12 and 13). 7.The shopping bag according to claim 6, characterized in that the handholes (19) are each made as an opening punched in the respective handles(15 and 16).
 8. The shopping bag according to claim 6, characterized inthat the hand holes (19) are formed as C-shaped cutouts in the handles(15 and 16).
 9. The shopping bag according to claim 6, characterized inthat the side panels (12 and 13) are made of an insulating foil.
 10. Theshopping bag according to claim 6, characterized in that the handles (15and 16) are welded on directly below the closure (14).
 11. The shoppingbag according to claim 6, characterized in that the handles (15 and 16)are welded on together with the closure (14).
 12. The shopping bagaccording to claim 6, characterized in that the handles (15 and 16)extend partially across the side panels (12 and 13) or extend over thefull width of the side panels (12 and 13).